Although Grieg and Elgar did not physically cross paths (they neither met nor corresponded), there are enough biographical and musical parallels to beg the question as to why the relationship between them has been largely overlooked. It is these points of contact that makes the combination of these two works on this recording particularly apposite. One has only to consider the similarity in their status not merely as ‘nationalistic composers’ but as important national figures. There are also various biographical parallels: they shared several mutual friends of whom the English composer Frederick Delius is the most notable, Elgar received an honorary doctorate at Oxford University in 1905, Grieg received the same award a year later; during the first orchestral broadcast of Elgar’s music in 1923, the accompanying piece in the program was Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite. Quite apart from these historical parallels there are many mutual points of contact in their compositions, particularly in the case of the two sonatas performed on this CD, one being that the completion of both sonatas coincided with a distancing of their respective writers from the musical nationalism for which they were most associated
“What makes 22-year-old Charlie Siem unusual is his emotional control – so firm, and so British, that it bites into the power of his otherwise fluent account of Elgar’s Violin Sonata. Much to praise in his tight focus and delicate rubato; but couldn’t he sing out more? The Grieg sonata makes an excellent pairing, and Siem’s subtleties are always well-balanced by the clean force of Andrei Korobeinikov’s piano.” The Times, 6th June 2008 ***
“Siem compares and contrasts two big-boned, late-Romantic violin sonatas, and manages to focus unerringly on the musical core of each. His Elgar sonata is by turns confidential and quick-witted, perfectly shaded and full of sweet-sour regrets; the Grieg, a less personal more public piece, receives a more outward-going performance of such authority that one wishes Siem and his equally accomplished pianist, Andrei Korobeinikov, had included another of the works from the Op 45 set rather than the selection of salon pieces by Elgar and Grieg with which they complete the disc.” The Guardian, 30th May 2008 ****
“Two spirited young players are clearly thoroughly enjoying themselves.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008
“…these are performances of remarkable freshness and spontaneity. The recorded ambience and balance are completely sympathetic to the music. It's a delightful disc.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 *****
